Is it difficult to reach the level when you can react in an instinctive or subconscious way?

Question

I heard there is a level in martial arts, a level where you work subconciuosly that prepares you to react without thinking about techniques or moves in a real fight. Is it difficult to achieve this level? Maybe the teachers from 5th dan and up have this level.

Answer 1

Everybody reacts instinctively, the issue is changing or replacing the instinct. That takes a long time and a lot of hard work. Hopefully all Godan will have reached this skill level.

Edit-

haha just had a memory as I was reading over the other answers.  One time a few years ago I was stationed in Tampa for a few months for drydock. Well as an example of what training does and the difference in reactions I have a story.

One night our crew went out to Hooters and another hotel bar to kinda celebrate. Well our Chief left about ten or fifteen minutes before myself and a younger mate. As the two of us were walking home we passed by some bushes that were pretty big and the area around was dimly lit. Well... Chief jumped out from behind the bushes to scare us. The young guy screamed and fell to the ground covering himself. I on the otherhand punched at our Chief. Realizing it was him, I pulled the punch short. This all in the blink of an eye.

Needless to say we had a great laugh about it and the command picked on David for falling to the ground like a little sissy.

That just goes to show you we all react, just have to learn to react the right way.

Answer 2

no, i can already i really didn't try to do it i just did

Answer 3

Do a move around 5 thousand times and it will work itself into your muscle memory and you will react instinctively.

Answer 4

It's different for each person but for the most part it is difficult. Depending on how much you practice you can get to this level in a few years or never... When you do reach this level though it is different from simply reacting to a surprise from behind a bush. When you reach that level you will go through an entire match without a single coherant thought. It's a great feeling though.

Answer 5

It would take years of dedicated training to reach that level. The more you train yourself how to react to an attack, the deeper it'll be ingrained in your subconscious.

If you've been training since a young age, you might find that you already instinctively use a certain block or dodge a certain way against a particular type of attack, as you're more impressionable when you're young.

Answer 6

May be a lot of practice would achieve this, though you must think a little bit after all.

Answer 7

MASTER PARKER said to many people suffer from paralysis by analysis.

Like nigel said when it happens it just happens .It requires daily practice and preferably with techniques that you think are your best bet or strongest moves and not a lot of them .I would rather fight a man who knows 1000 moves than fight someone who has mastered 3.

How fast you reach this state of no mind will depend in a large way on how many "fast twitch" fibers in the muscles you were born with .

If you were born with more than the average guy you will reach this state very quickly rank has nothing to do with it.

BILL WALLACE as a green belt was 4 or 5 times faster than any black belt.

BRUCE LEE probably had a lot of fast twitch fibers in his muscle.

For the average to reach this state will require extra time and effort but it can be attained.

Those with fewer fast twitch fibers than average should take up grappling and I dont mean that as an insult .In grappling you sieze the opponent and restrain his strikes allowing more time to think it out.

Answer 8

Yes it is very difficult to reach this level, an takes a lot of hard work and many years of training. Like Aaron  said, we all react, martial arts just teaches you to react properly.

What you are talking about is Mushin, which roughly translated means "no mind". You take the concious thought process out of the equasion, which makes your reaction much faster. This is most evident when the attack is a suprise.

Mushin also means defending yourself wthout nger or ego, and having no emotions, just doing what eeds to be done.